The Book of Eli
by secretxoxlove
Summary: Imogen's doing her best to turn Eli against Clare and manipulate him into falling in love with her, but when Eli meets the new mysterious girl Valerie who oddly reminds him of past love Julia, he's torn. gets HOT! Give it a chance! Who will Eli choose?
1. The Introduction

**wattpad .com/user/4everthesickestkid = I prefer you check it out here too :) There's pics & a trailer/promo!**

**::::::::::QUICK NOTE: As any other story, it starts off slow but it does pick up!  
>If you love Eli and or Imogen, then keep reading!<br>It get's pretty intense and pretty hot!::::::::::**

Adam looks away from Eli and fixes his eyes on Imogen across the room. He returns to his soda. "She's cute," he says.

"Ah, so you've set your eyes on another conquest. Over Fiona already?"

"Fiona was just a phase... purely experimental. She didn't get me." He sighs. "But Imogen, she's different..." He trails off as Imogen skips over to the lunch table they were at.

"Guess who!" She sings as she wraps her hands over Eli's eyes from behind.

He uncomfortably tries to casually slide away after Adam basically just confessed to having a major crush on her.  
>"What's up Imogen?"<p>

"Oh nothing." She smiles at Adam who awkwardly smiles back in return before turning back to face Eli. "We still on for Latte's after school?" Eli and Imogen always went to Above the Dot after school... it was like their thing.

"Yeah, for sure," Eli says with a smile beginning to play at his lips after seeing Adam's expression drop. "Hey, man, you should come too."

Adams face lights up. "You sure? I wouldn't want to get in the way of your—your..." he trails off not exactly knowing what to call their form of bonding.

"No worries, Adam Torres," Imogen says catching the end of his sentence. "The more the merrier! See you two after school then?" She hops back up and is gone within a few seconds.

"Dude!" Adam calls.

"What?"

"Why did you do that? Above The Dot, after school? I'm just going to make a fool of myself." When Adam first encountered Imogen, he though she was a strange cat. But as time went on, he began to change his mind.

"You said you liked her..." Eli says with a puzzled expression. "I was just trying to help you out. How are you going ever have a chance with her if you don't spend time together?"

Adam sighs knowing he's right. "But she's totally into you." He sighs again.

"What? Imogen? No way... why would you even think that?"

"I can just _tell."  
><em>  
>"You got it all wrong, man. Me and Imogen are just good friends, that's all."<p>

"You sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

Just then, the bell goes and lunch is over. "I'll see you later." Adam gathers his bag and turns in the opposite direction to leave.

As Eli's walking through the hallways, he can't help but notice how much Degrassi has changed over the past months. He catches a glimpse of Clare and Jake hand in hand before shaking his head in disgust. He was so happy to be rid of her—all she ever did was string him along to break his heart. Just then as he's lost in thought he slams into something with a thud.  
>"Hey watch where you're going!" He yells before looking down at the girl he just accidently knocked over. "Oh, sorry!" He says quickly and leans down to help her up and retrieve her books.<p>

She just shakes her head and breathes out in frustration. "Thanks." As she leans in for her books, their eyes meet briefly for a second before she quickly breaks his gaze and looks away.

"No problem," He mumbles to himself as she begins to walk away. He turns and watches as she leaves, her long black hair swaying from side to side behind her.

When he finally gets to class he's distracted. All he can think about are those big brown eyes that the girl looked up at him with. Those deep brown eyes that strangely seemed so oddly familiar. '_Where have I seen those eyes before?' _He thinks as he puts his head down in frustration.

"Okay class," the teacher begins with a tall stack of books in her arms. "Don't get too excited, but today we're going to be starting a unit I'm sure you'll all be excited for." She begins to hand out a book to each student in each row before continuing, "Macbeth; a thrilling tragedy! Our units Shakespearean spin-off to Romeo and _Juliet."_

**::::::::::NOTE: Hi! I know what you're thinking... If you read on, here's what's in store:  
>1. Eli &amp; Imogen become super close<br>2. Although Eli's begun to hate Clare under Imo's manipulation, Clare doesn't necessarily want to let go of what they had  
>3. Eli meets Val, a new mysterious girl at Degrassi who strangely reminds him of past love Julia<br>and 4. Eli gets hooked on meth. So yes, major drama...**

Review? Tips? Ideas? Reviews will help motivate me to write, so let me know what you think. I actually care!


	2. Mystery Girl

The whole walk is completely awkward, but he can't stop thinking about that girl. He's never seen her around—he can't help but wonder when he'll see her again.

"Hey, what's on your mind? You've been quiet the whole walk here," Imogen says to Eli, opening the door for him and Adam. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just..." He trails off as his eyes set on the same girl from earlier. "It's just... just..." He stops confused with what he was trying to say. "You know what? You guys go ahead and order. I'll be right there."

He begins to slowly walk over to the mystery girl. She was sitting alone and her long black hair was slung around her shoulder this time—it was so distinct, he could recognize it anywhere. "Hey."

"Oh," she says looking up from her book. "Well what do you know? Boy who knocked me over this afternoon... hey."

"I said I was sorry."

She shrugs. "Yeah, I remember. So can I help you?"

He shakes his head. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asks without meaning to after seeing those eyes again.

"I doubt it," she says slowly staring back.

He looks away. "So what are you reading?"

"Oh this? Pride and the Prejudice." She turns it over to look at the cover. "It's my favourite."

"That was Ju—" He stops himself. "A girl I used to know... it was her favourite too."

"I see," she nods. "So what about you? Have you read it? Do fairly cute boys like you even read?" She jokes.

"Hey, you're looking at the writer of our school play."

"Oh, so that's you, is it? Impressive. So I guess that means you're also the same guy that got that gothic tales comic published last semester."

"Yup."

"Again, impressive." She sips her coffee. "I'm Valerie by the way. _Val."  
><em>  
>"Elijah. Or, <em>Eli." <em>It's quiet for a moment before their eyes meet and lock for the third time today. "You have really pretty eyes." Hearing how familiar the words sounded on his lips, he smiles slyly to the side.

"Are you flirting with me?" She smirks and puts her book into her bag, sipping the last sip of her coffee before saying, "Look, I've gotta go. It was nice talking to you Eli. See you around?"

"I guess you will."

He watches her leave before turning to look for Adam and Imogen. "So who was that?" Adam asks with a playful smile.

"Val." Eli smiles to himself liking the sound of her name on his lips. "You guys done? Can we go?"

"But we just got—"

"Kay cool," he says cutting Imogen off mid-sentence. "Let's go."

"I've got hockey practice," Adam says after they get outside. "I guess I'll catch you guys tomorrow?" Imogen leans into hug him and Eli can't help but chuckle a little.

"So what did I miss?" He asks Imogen after Adam's gone.

"Nothing really," she says with her nose in the air. "The question is, what did _I _miss? Val? Who's Val?"

"She's this girl I bumped into this morning. Literally... I accidently bumped into her and knocked her over."

"Huh. Good for her."

He laughs. "Maybe, but I don't know. There's something about her. I hate to even bring it up but when I look at her, I feel like I know her. Almost like we've met before."

"That doesn't give you any reason to feel attracted to her. Eli Goldsworthy, you're just getting over Clare. You're not ready to move on so quickly."

He stops in his tracks. "Getting over Clare? I don't have any feelings for Clare, I've _been _over her. And as for Val, I never said anything about falling for her either."

She grabs his wrist urging him to continue walking. "But I know you Eli. You fall way too hard and way too easily. And when it's over, who's going to have to be there to pick up the pieces?" Eli ignores it and continues to look straight ahead. "Maybe it's time you just look under your nose. Maybe what you're looking for might be right in front of you."

"What are you talking about?" He asks confused now.

She looks down at her feet. "Nothing. But who cares right? Let's talk about something else now." Suddenly she's a lot more perky than usual. "Adams a really nice guy—we really hit it off."

"Really? That's cool. I think he really likes you." He widens his eyes after realising he just blurted that out.

"Really?"

"Well, I'm guessing..." He says trying to cover it up. "Just a thought."

"I see... well anyways... you know his brother Drew? Parents are going out of town, so he's throwing some kind of party this weekend. I think it'll be fun."

"Party?" Eli repeats raising an eyebrow. "We're not exactly the party types."

"You're too uptight Eli! This will be good for you."

When he gets home he immediately runs up to his room. He recently removed his lock with Juliet's death date as the combination when he decided to get things together. He falls back onto his bed right as a text comes in. It's from Clare: _I still need that interview with u for the paper by friday_  
>"Shit," he mutters under his breath. He forgot about that. He hasn't talked to Clare since the first day back and now she's on the newspaper staff covering <em>his <em>play. Clearly, she doesn't get the concept of _'steering clear.'_ Despite the fact she's the last person he wants to see, he texts back: _Right. See u tmrw..._


	3. Liberating Muse

**::::::::::This may sound a bit familiar. I really like Eli's "intensity?"**

"So she ripped your heart out, _and? _Eli. Why do you invest so much thought into a girl who's only out to hurt you?" Imogen hands Eli back the bottle of anti-anxiety meds that he hasn't touched in a few days thanks to her. "Without these, you're writing's amazing. Top-notch! Stop worrying about Clare Edwards; you'll rock the interview."

"I know my story's great but I can't trust that. It's not enough." His shoulders begin to square as he tenses up in the school yard awaiting Clare's arrival. "Maybe I can take just one—or three! And I won't need to take any more afterward."

"Eli!" Imogen snaps. She quickly pulls him in and kisses him on the cheek. "Deep breaths!" He looks at her wide-eyed, confused by the sudden kiss. "I told you," she continues simply. "You're free. You can handle it. We've been through this, remember?" He doesn't say anything. He just stands there awestruck by the whole situation. "Look! Here she comes... so, uh, just rock it!" She quickly dances away and before he knows it, he's alone, left to face the _'heartless, manipulative witch of an ex,'_as he once put it.

"Hey Eli," Clare says softly as she approaches him. "You ready to get started?" He nods, and she slowly takes a seat on the bench. "So, the pitch went well?"  
>"Of course!" He begins. "Unbelievable! You actually inspired me."<p>

"Inspired you?" She repeats with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yes, you inspired me. You were my muse!"

"Well... I'm glad I could help." Clare shifts uncomfortably as she looks away from his quizzical actions and presses play on her recorder. "So what's it abou—"

"Ha!" He yells cutting her off getting closer to her face. "It's called _'Love Roulette' _and it's about a high school relationship gone wrong. It's about two lovers at a high school dance, and the hero of the story ends up becoming obsessed with a manipulative, religious, _psycho! _Sound familiar?"_  
><em>  
>Probably replaying the events of their relationship, Clare shakes her head. "Eli, you can't...you're a liar." She winces as he retreats away from her. "What's wrong with you, have you been taking your medications?"<p>

"No!" He says in a rushed, somewhat psychotic tone. "I don't love you anymore, Clare! I'm free!"

She quickly looks up at him as he waves his arms in the air. "You need help, Eli."

"I have all the help I need," he replies so quick she doesn't even properly finish her sentence.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere Imogen appears from behind him. "At your service, Eli Goldsworthy." She places her hand on his shoulder. They both begin to glare at Clare with such simplicity in their eyes as Clare sits there completely disturbed by the whole situation.

"Come on, Imo." They both turn to walk away as Eli continues, "We've got a play to write." Just before they make their exit, Eli stops to open his bottle of meds and looks at Clare one last time as she watches him pour the pills into the trash, one by one.

"Well played," Imogen says as they get to their lockers again. "You've conquered your demons. Now you can deal with anything."

"You're right! I feel so liberated—the play's going to be a hit."

"Of course, Eli. I always knew you had it in you." She puts her hands over his shoulders. "So how about that party tomorrow?"

**::::::::::Clare deserved to be told off in my opinion :)**  
><strong>Agree? Disagree? <strong>


	4. I'm Here

It's Friday, the night of the party and Eli is somewhat on edge as he and Imogen approach the Torres house. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," he says backing away. "It's not too late to bail."

"What's with the sudden panicking? It'll be fine. Just imagine yourself going to visit Adam like any other ordinary day."

He looks around at the dark neighbourhood as the faint sound of loud dance music pumps from behind the door. He sighs. "I guess a little fun couldn't hurt. And I can handle anything, right?"

She nods taking his hand for support. "I'm always right here when you need me. We'll have a blast." Eli takes another sigh of relief. Imogen's helped him through so much these past couple of days and he knew that as long as he has her by his side, strangely everything will be okay. He also knew that if anything _did _go wrong, he also had his anti-anxiety meds there to catch him. "Now hand them over," Imogen says sticking out her hand, almost reading his mind.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you too well, Eli." She sticks her hand down the inside of his pocket and drops the bottle into her own. "I thought we were done with these?"

"We are," he says in a rushed tone. "Just in case..."

She shakes her head as she opens the front door dragging Eli in behind her. "Let's dance!" She calls over the music. Imogen begins to dance around, clearly not giving a hoot about what anybody thinks. Eli on the other hand just stands there beginning to feel real awkward and uncomfortable with the whole scene.

"Maybe we should get something to drink," he suggests after a 20 second attempt at a dance.

"Hey! You made it!" Adam says coming up from behind.

"Adam Torres!" Imogen calls in her usual high pitched squeal. "Mr. Grouch here is being a bit of a Debbie-downer." She nods at Eli. "Would _you _like to dance?"

"Sure!" He says.

Eli's jaw slightly drops as he gives Imogen a considerably dirty look. Did she drag him all the way here just to ditch him? They begin to dance as if no one was watching—including Eli, who was just standing there watching their terrible dance moves and being ignored. He shakes his and begins to walk out into the direction away from the middle of the floor—where he'd be sure not to be the centre of attention. He begins to think to himself as he leans against the wall. Suddenly, he looks to his left and sees Clare—flat out making out with the new guy, _Jake. _He cringes and feels an unexpected rush of mixed emotions overwhelm him. He quickly looks away but instinctively looks back up at them again. Trying not to let anger become a prime emotion, he begins to walk in the opposite direction just as Clare looks up. He stops as their eyes briefly meet for a second, but he feels so sick he can't hold it.

"Eli!" Imogen calls grabbing his arm. "I've been looking all over for you!" As usual, Imogen was there at his rescue, always knowing when to pop in.

"I can't do this," he breathes looking at her. "I don't want to be here."

"Don't worry, I brought you a drink." She hands him the red plastic cup that was in her other hand. They both knew it wasn't just soda being served at this party, but not even caring and eager to let go of his emotions, Eli chugs it.

"Maybe we should get another one," he says eagerly.

She smiles as they both make their ways over to the drinks. They each have one after the other. "Is it helping?"

Becoming a little less panicky, he breathes out a sigh of relief. "I feel a lot better, actually. Thanks, Imo." Eli was glad to always have Imogen to be of service. It was weird—almost as if she always knew exactly what he was feeling without him even having too ask—always knew what he needed. She was more than a friend to him. Almost like a guide, always knowing what decisions to make. Immediately feeling a lot more motivated to hit the dance floor Eli begins to bob his head to the music. The alcohol was beginning to make its way down and enter his system making him feel a lot better—_a lot better than those anti-anxiety meds ever made him feel.  
><em>  
>Both he and Imogen make their way over to a corner where it's much darker. "Now you're feeling it!" She says with a huge grin on her face as she dances in circles though they could hardly see each other. "I sort of disappeared on Adam. I'll be right back."<p>

Eli could barely even make out her words anymore. He just nods, continually bobbing his head to the music as she slips away. He tries to turn around but staggers, bumping into someone in the process. "Hey!" She calls, attempting to sound strong, but by the way she was slightly staggering as well, it was clear she must have been tipsy too.

"My bad," he says grabbing hold of her shoulders trying to steady both her _and _himself. "I don't want to be here," he says with a giddy laugh at the end.

"Funny. Me neither. Maybe we can _not _want to be here together." Without even giving it a second thought, the girl grabs hold of his face and pulls him in crushing her lips on his so hard, the intensity between them nearly sobers the cloud out of Eli's head. Instead of pulling away, he continues to kiss the girl. He hasn't kissed anyone since Clare, and to his surprise, right now, Clare was nowhere to be found on his mind. He moves his lips along with hers as they softly begin to pull away.

"Wow," he whispers as he lets his forehead rest against hers. All along, he'd thought he'd been free of Clare's manipulative mind-pull, but maybe he wasn't. _Now _he felt free. _Now _he felt like he could move on. "Wow."

"I know," she whispers back. For a few seconds they just stand there with their arms gently placed around each other, face to face until, _BAM! _Lights go on and the moments gone.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" From the way everyone was suddenly scrambling around, it was obviously Adam and Drew's mother. "I don't want to have to get the cops involved!"

Eli shakes his head and looks up at the girl in his arms. _"Val?" _he says shocked. Instantly, they both felt more alert than ever.

"Oh my gosh." She quickly pulls away. "I'm so sorry, I have to go," she says rubbing her eyes, not knowing if she should back away slowly or just run all together.

"Wait!" he calls, but she's already joined the mass of the crowd and she's gone. She's gone, and all he's left with was that dazzling, lost but familiar stare, and that amazingly redemptive kiss that just seemed to linger there on his lips.

"Don't worry about it." Imogen appears from behind and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here."

**:::::::::: Tell me what you think so I know what direction to go with this!  
>Valerie? The random character I added for dramatic effect?<br>Do you like Imogen's lovely creepiness? **


	5. Light Me Up

It was already Saturday night and Eli was meeting up with Imogen at her house. Eli watches from on top of her bed as she rummages through a bunch of her stuff, clearly looking for something in particular. "Give me a sec," she sighs reaching in her bottom draw searching for something. "Aha!" she sings pulling out a long, clear, tube looking object. "I thought I lost you!"

"What is that?" Eli asks curiously leaning against the pillows.

She doesn't answer right away as she sits cross legged in front of her dresser and reaching under her bed for a little pink and black box. "Oh, nothing really. Or at least nothing _you'd _be interested in." She flashes him a devious smile making him only ten times more curious.

As she opens the little box up, she reaches in for a bag of what looks like a clump of white substance. "Is that a crack pipe!" He calls out a little too loudly.

"Shhhh!" she says springing up and slapping her hand over his mouth. "You might not want to be blurting that out so loudly. You can't keep a secret, can you?"He just stares as she slowly retreats away and begins to fill the pipe with the mysterious substance. "It's not crack; it's meth, silly." He continues to stare, shocked by the sudden revelation, but too afraid to admit his fascination. He wasn't stupid—he knew what meth was used for. _That was it! This _is why Imogen was such an interesting character. _This _is what makes her so self-assured. There was no way she could handle life so effortlessly just on her own terms... she was cheating. But wasn't he cheating too if he was prescribed anti-anxiety medications? What if he used the meth instead? Then at least he'd still be able to think straight and not feel like crap all the time.

"Hand it over," he says sitting up with trying to sound as forthright as possible. "I need some."

"Eli, no," she says trying to light herself up, but letting the lighter fumble out of her fingers. She begins to mumble to herself, "This is a lot harder when you're alone..."

"So then let me help."

She looks up in thought for a moment. "Okay." He hops off the bed and takes a seat next to her, glad to be of help to Imogen for once. "When I lean in, just light me up." She repositions the pipe at her lips, placing the crystal in the opening. As told, Eli lights the pipe when she leans in as he watches the almost scentless fumes vanish into thin air. "Such a rush!" She leans in, and once again, Eli is lighting her up, giving her her second wind of confidence.

"My turn." He tries to take the pipe from Imo, but she pulls it away.

"_Eli Goldsworthy!" _She sings in her distinctive first and last name calling tone. "I don't know... I don't think it's a good idea. You, yourself said that you weren't a _'lab rat' _waiting for the right remedy to come along, am I right? Your words, not mine."

"What do you mean not a good idea? And _no, _I'm _not _but, I think I know what I want... I can make my own decisions!" Even though he's nearly in Imogens face and raising his voice a little too loudly, she just sits there without even budging with her usual cunning smirk painted on her face. "Are you going to help me out now, or what?"

"Alright." She puts her hands up in surrender. "Just calm down, Eli. Deep breaths, like we practiced, remember? Don't let the crazy get the best of you." Following her instructions, he takes the deep breaths and picks up the pipe. It feels uncomfortable between his fingers, but he doesn't care. All he's looking forward to is the rush of euphoria and pleasure that comes afterward. In her soft and shrilling tone, she whispers, "Just inhale, and hold it for as long as possible." She watches him slowly breathe in, "And carefully exhale. Now what do you feel?"

"Nothing," he says slamming his hands down not afraid to show his disappointment.

"Just wait a bit."

"Do it again," he says in a rushed tone. "Again." Without hesitation this time, she does as he says without putting up a fight. And an extra final hit before he falls back against the bed and closes his eyes. He felt it now. That incredible rush of energy that was slowly beginning to take over his mind—that magical feeling of his brain being cleared of _every_ burden. "Wow," he says getting up as Imogen throws everything back into her drawer. "This feels absolutely amazing; I feel like I can take on anything right now." She just stands up and smiles at him. "_Thanks, _Imogen, really! Honestly, I feel so good I could kiss you right now!"

Her eyes light up and she's immediately alert. "Really? You could kiss me?" She begins to slowly move in closer to him and when she does, uses her hand to run through Eli's long and soft dark brown hair as she looks into his deep green eyes. She wraps both arms around his neck—their lips only inches apart as she whispers, "Then kiss me." And he does. Soft and slow as he lets his hands gently slide down the length of her only to stop just shy of her hips. Their lips continue to move together in synch as she slowly begins to fall back onto the bed pulling him on top of her as she does it. His lips begin to move to her neck, gently kissing and exploring the lengths of it as she moans out, "You're amazing, Eli Goldsworthy."

**:::::::::: Sooooo? Things are going to get pretty hot & steamy with Eli & Imogen!**  
><strong>But then there's Val... what will she think?<strong>

**No... better yet, what do _you _think? Reviews? Thoughts? Honesty! Thanks :)**


	6. Living Well Is The Best Revenge

**_::::::::::Sorry! I've been busy lately... got a job yesterday! (irrelevant).  
><em>Because I took so long to update, I did a double upload<em>  
>Anyways... any tips on what should happen next would be greatly appreciated. I have ideas, but I'm really <em>not _trying to follow the story line of the show.  
>Speaking of... "CAKE!" Wednesdays ep? :( Ew... nooo::::::::::<em>**

l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l

"Guess who!" For some reason this time, Eli doesn't feel the need to squirm at the touch, though he knows who it is.

"Imogen." He begins to pull the hands from off of his eyes as he turns around. "Whoa!"

"Who's _Imogen?" _Asks Val raising an eyebrow.

"A friend... who you clearly aren't..."

She nods, and she's _clearly _offended. "Fascinating."

"What are you talking about?"

"Imogen? She came up to me—told me everything." _She what? _He thinks to himself. "You guys are together, aren't you..."

He tries to hide his annoyance. "Non-exclusively, I guess you can put it that way—but,"

"So why didn't you just tell me?"

Eli sighs. "Look, it's complicated all right? We're not '_together.' _Me and Imogen...just _get each other, _that's all."

l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l

The classes flew by, and already it was lunch time. "All alone?" Eli cringes at the sound of the piercing shrill of the voice behind him. _Imogen—_he could just _sense _her energy!

"No, I was actually waiting for someone," he lies peering over her shoulder as she tries to keep herself in the way.

"Who?" She asks walking alongside him uninvited. "That girl? _Valerie Stone?"  
><em>  
>Eli pushes his eyebrows together in concern. Not even <em>he <em>knew Val's last name yet. "Uhm, no actually."

It's quiet for a moment and they both know exactly what the other is thinking. _That Saturday. _Imogen speaks first breaking the silence. "It's okay if you like her. I guess that night... when _we_were together—we weren't in our right minds. So it doesn't count."

"Nothing even happened."

"Are you sure about that, Eli?" She takes hold of his hand. "You don't need to deny it in attempts to forget. I won't say anything. Not to mention how it would just _crush _Adam..."

"But you told Val..." He says confused letting his voice fade out. "You know what? Let's just not even talk about that anymore. I'm sorry, maybe we took it a little too far but—I,"

She cuts him off. "You don't have feelings for me in that way. I get it." He stays quiet for a moment and she brushes it off. "We're just friends, Eli. But with a few benefits?" She winks. "You seem so distracted—I know exactly what'll make you feel better."

l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l

"Here," Imogen says pulling the pipe out her bag. "Instantaneous relief, remember?" They were sitting on a bench in the parking lot away from the school. Imogen hands the tool to Eli. Recently, he didn't even have to think about it anymore—almost as if it were just any plain old innocent drug. She lights the bottom of the pipe and he inhales it and begins to instantly feel relieved, as expected. She does the same but they both panic as they here footsteps getting closer. "Quick! Take it!" Imogen whispers as Eli shoves it into his bag as quickly as possible. They both stare at each other for a few seconds as the rush begins to pick up in their bodies.

When they both look up, it's Clare, who's standing in front of a bright red renovation truck with a notebook in hand. She looks straight ahead and sees both Eli and Imogen looking back at her but all she can focus on is Eli and the way his beautiful, dreamy gaze fell upon her. He and Imo both look away as if it were nobody, and Eli leans in to her. "Pathetic how being with her never made me feel this good," he whispers causing Imogen to giggle and playfully push him away. For no apparent reason, they both laugh for another second, but when Eli turns his head to look at Clare again—she's gone and he can't help but feel a tiny void form inside of him somewhere.

"Let's skip," Imogen says wrapping her hands around his neck. "Just to make sure your mind is off of things."

"Let's do it," he agrees already having forgotten Clare and the way she looked at him. They both hop up and Eli slides his hand into Imogens. They both take a quick look back at the school before running 'til they were out of sight.

l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l

"Chuck Palahniuk," Imogen says almost stumbling as she sits down across from Eli in the alleyway. "'Says that's the best revenge of all: _happiness. _Nothing drives a person crazier than seeing someone else have a good fucking life." She laughs.

"My favourite author," Eli nods. If it were any other day, he'd question how Imogen knew to bring him up, but not today. Today was a good day. He was high and he felt great—nothing to worry about, right? "What're you trying to say anyway?"

"Little Miss Clare. Did you see her face? It killed her to see you smiling—to see you happy. When she's not indulging in her smug, know-it-all studies, she's probably out hooking up with Jake. But the minute she sees you're not sulking over her anymore, it breaks her little heart you aren't miserable anymore. That sounds pretty selfish if you ask me."

"You know, you're right," he says giving that moment another thought. "Ever since Julia, I've never felt as.. as... _alive _as I do right now. Clare was wearing me down!" _Emotionally and mentally._

Imogen slightly winces at the sudden mention of Julia. "Well you know what they say," she says picking up a stone and gently tossing it.

"Living well is the best revenge." He smiles. "Let's get out of here. Somewhere quieter." He nods to the street annoyed with the loud traffic noises. "Somewhere a little more private, preferably."

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_**::::::::::I feel like nothing is happening!** So I had to throw in a twist to Chapter lucky #7 :D  
>Okie dokie. I totally scrapped my old chapter 6 &amp; 7-it was 'too much too soon.' So<em>_ instead I threw this together_,** I hope you like what happens next!**_ Enjoy..._

Thanks to all who've reviewed so far! They all help!


	7. Young & Stupid

_**::::::::::Here it is! Review it—I **_**REEEEEALLY**_** need your thoughts on this one...  
>I'm not even gunna ramble... JUST READ :p<strong>_

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"Let's be fancy schmancy and drink some of this out of a shot glass just for fun," Imogen suggests holding up the bottle of wine after raiding Eli's fridge.

"What's the point of that?"

"Stop being such a kill joy—you're killing my buzz, Eli Goldsworthy." She was being literal. Her buzz/high _was _wearing off and she just wanted something to help recreate the feeling.

"Fine," he says giving in. One thing he liked about being with Imogen was that he didn't have to think about anything. It was all pure instinct and danger. Just_ fun. _With that in mind, he walks up to her wrapping his arms around her from behind. She pours a bit of the cheap champagne into the tiny shot glass and throws it back. "You want?" she asks shaking the cup to his face.

"Hit me," he jokes. She laughs and re-fills the glass before handing it to him. "You know... you're lucky you're cute." She turns around to face him as he drinks, then places the empty glass on the countertop as Imogen begins to run her fingers through his hair like she always did. "Extremely cute," he corrects himself.

"So we got high, ditched school, _sipped champagne—"_she lets her fingertips softly brush against his neck before saying, "What happens next is completely up to you." She shoots him a quick sweet, yet uncanny smile before turning away from him and heading for the stairs. All of a sudden, the words _'living well is the best revenge' _pops into his head—Imogen literally helped him to feel _great _about not being with Clare. _What did he really have to lose? _He thinks as he follows her.

"You're so unpredictable," he says finally catching up to her. She was sitting dead centre of his single bed—barely enough room for two people. "I love that about you."

"And do you know what I love about you?" Imo says grabbing hold of one of his hands and pulling him closer. They were face to face now. "You're '_back,'_ you know what you want—and there's no crazy ex-girlfriends holding you back—to,"

She's silenced by Eli's sudden lips on hers crushing them down with so much intensity it makes her head spin. It may have been the alcohol, but there was no denying that he was an incredible kisser. The room was silent and the only sounds that filled the air were the sounds of gasps of air in between kisses. Eli concentrated on satisfying Imogen as he began to pick up intensity moving his lips with hers and letting his hands explore the lengths of her body. Imogen began to lean back arching into Eli's erotic touch as he carefully held his weight on top of her making sure to not to add too much pressure. She let her hands trail down his back stopping at the hem line of his shirt and slightly slipping her hands inside to feel his bare skin.

He breaks the kiss to look up at her warm brown eyes staring back with so much adoration. "Only if you want to," he breathes, and without even thinking about it she pulls his face back down to hers.

She kisses him long and soft before whispering back, "I want to." _Of course she did. _This was Eli-fricken-Goldsworthy. He sits up for a sec and pulls his t-shirt up from over his head revealing his gorgeous bare body before closing the gap in between them once again as she lets her hands absent-mindedly roam against his skin. He keeps his hands fixed firmly on her small hips before loosening grip to work at the button on her pants.

Just as he finally gets it undone, they hear a car pull up onto the driveway. Eli dashes toward the window. "Crap—it's my dad." He quickly struggles to get his shirt back over his head as Imogen awkwardly fumbles to get her button done again.

"The champagne!" She blurts out. "We left it out in the open!" She swiftly darts down the stairs in the blink of an eye, puts the bottle back in the refrigerator, and stashes the unwashed shot glass into a cabinet.

The key in the lock begins to turn, so they both run into the living room and flip on the television trying to look casual. "Hey son." It was Bullfrog Goldsworthy coming in early from work. "It's 2:30, what are you doing home?"

Eli's eyes widen forgetting that they'd skipped—he didn't know what to say. "He wasn't feeling too well!" Imogen says bouncing up. Once again, she was there at his rescue. "So I helped him get home—just call me doctor Imo." Her voices trails off. "Always ready to help... _when I'm called..._" She forces a huge, friendly grin putting out her hand for him to shake.

He shakes it. "So you helped my boy?"

"Yup! I even got him an _afternoon dessert," _she says with a little giggle at the end causing Eli to smile and shake his head.

"So you left school," his dad repeats again, "because you were sick?" His voice sounds questioning as if he wasn't buying _any _of it.

"Uh, yeah," Eli confirms. "True story... Imogen helped me out! I wasn't feeling too great—"

"Clearly," he interrupts with a humourless laugh. "Your shirt's on backwards."

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_**::::::::::**Too much? Too little? Idk... it _is_ fan**-'fiction' :)**  
>Well anyways, Eli &amp; Imo are sort of together so this is where a plot can finally kick in! <em>**NO WAY CLARE MAKES OUT WITH JAKE AND LEAVES ELI LEFT TO DANGLE AND TAKE IT!**_  
>(As a writer) this is where it gets exciting for me XD<em>

**For the ones who are actually keeping up, I freaking love you!** And to the reviewers, I love you _moar _because not only do they put a smile on a losers face—it helps me direct where this whole thing is going!  
><strong>#LOVEYA! <strong>review!review!review!thoughts!thoughts!thoughts!tips!tips!tips!


	8. A Stunning Display Of Verbal Acuity

**::::::::::SORRY!** _Longest update wait everrr! _I've been _uuuber_ busy  
>But here it is! Chapter 8.<br>_Complete with another follow up and an encounter with Clare Edwards..._  
><em>...which leads into Chapter 9; which is all <strong>ECLARE <strong>so, Eclare fans... be happy. **And thank me later :)**_

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><strong>_

"It really does make a difference," Adam says slowly. "Katie doesn't except me for who I am, and according to Marisol, I'm not exactly her _'physical type.'_"

"Well, I think the _Imogen _ship has sailed. Besides," Eli says not exactly sure of what he was trying to convince Adam of, "You and Katie had chemistry at last night's show. _Imogen_—Imogen is a lot to handle."

"Hey, what's with the sudden discouragement?" Adam stops Eli from grabbing a seat. "Come to think of it, when's the last time we even had a guy's night? Or the last time you hung out with someone besides Imogen?"

"Okay—what are you even talking about? I may have made her the leading lady in Love Roulette, but I'm not always with her." He lied with such a straight face not wanting to hurt Adam if it wasn't necessary.

"Maybe not, but I called you _all _last week and you never returned any of them. I even asked Imogen if she wanted to hang out—but she was _coincidentally _busy around the same exact times... where have you been?"

"With me!" Val says coming up from behind. "We've been hanging out a lot lately, haven't we, Eli?"

He gives her a confused look before shaking his head and agreeing. There was always _some girl _willing to jump to his defence. "Ugh, yea—we have."

Adam nods, not buying a word of it. "Whatever," he mumbles. "I'll see you around."

"You didn't have to do that," Eli says after Adams gone.

"No problem. Really." She turns to walk away, with the same old book in her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know—anywhere but here, I guess."

He grabs the book out of her hand and almost instantly, her face is filled with worry and apprehension. "Give that back!" She yells trying to grab it as Eli spins on his heel in the other direction with a smile.

"What's your deal? I'm just looking..." he opens the book skimming through the pages allowing it to land on the back cover. It read: _May 2009—Julia.M _"This book hasn't been signed out since 2009," he says slowly with his eyes glued to her name.

"Yeah, I know that!" She grabs the book back as quickly as possible stuffing it into her shoulder bag. "What's your point?"

He shakes his head and does his best to ignore all the odds of this moment ever occurring. "Where did you get this?" he whispers grabbing her shoulders suddenly feeling nervous_. "Where did you get this?"_

"Eli? What's wrong with you? You're acting like you're crazy!" He backs off trying to calm down a bit taken by surprise by her words. After all, he didn't want_ 'the crazy to get the best of him.' _"And I got from my old school's library. I just—forgot to return it before I transferred to Degrassi... that's all."

He sighs. "You went to Goetz?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Sorry—I just got caught up in a really bizarre thought for a second there."

"It's alright." It's quiet for a moment and when he looks up at her, he sees something so freakishly familiar, his eyes widen and he jumps out of his seat.

"You better back off!" He says a little too loudly as everyone in the Dot turns to stare, including Val.

"Eli, what's your problem?" She raises an eyebrow startled by his behaviour.

"That choker," he says pointing. "That was Julia's! Julia used to wear that all the time!" He swallows hard trying to recollect his thoughts. _"Who are you?"_

"I'm Valerie Stone, nice to meet you—glad that's covered. _Who are you?" _Her body's still in place but her expression screams confusion.

"Tell me what you know," he says in a low, intense voice now coming closer.

"I got it at a thrift store for my sister, but she didn't like it, so I kept it. No big deal." Suddenly the thought of her having an identical necklace to Julia wasn't exactly as rare as he was making it seem—I mean, it wasn't like it was a handcrafted one-of-a-kind. It was probably right off the racks of Hot Topic.

"I gotta go." He didn't like the energy that was pulsating in between them. Whenever they were together, something was always _off..._almost as if they were both hiding something from each other. "Eli! Watch out," Val calls as he backs out of the door right-smack into Clare Edwards.

"Are you alright?" Clare asks in her innocent and soft voice. She leans down to pick up his bag, but accidently lifts it the wrong way up causing all of his things to come pouring out along with Imogens _'equipment' _from the other day ago. "Eli is that a—"

_"Thanks _for holding my things, Eli," Val says interrupting Clare as she reaches for Imogens meth bags and pipe she left with Eli. "'Preciate it."

"Valerie?" Clare asks taken aback. "Since when?"

"Uhm... I don't know. That's kind of a personal question—so,"

"You're right. Sorry." Clare gives Eli a sympathetic look before entering the Dot to sit with Jake who just so happened to be in the corner the whole time.

He glares at Jake as the door shuts before turning back to Val who still had Eli's earlier behaviour fresh in her mind. She hands him back Imogens things as he says, "Again, _you didn't have to do that."  
><em>  
>"What are friends for?" She smiles.<p>

"So how do you and Clare know each other?"

"Newspaper." He nods slowly which causes her to laugh. "You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

"No! _What? _Clare?" He scoffs. "Once upon a time we had something, but—I'm over it."

"I saw the way you looked at her."

"And I saw the way _you _looked her. What's the big deal?"

She laughs again and now she's the one shaking her head not buying a word of attempted assurance. "I've heard things about her... and believe me, I'll never understand the power Clare Edwards has over men," she says slowly. "Miss Clare Edwards."

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**::::::::::Just click the little "next chapter" button for nothing but pure Eclare.**  
><em>Will Clare win Eli back?<em>  
><em>or will she push him away all over again? *high pitched voice:*<em> _I don't _knooow XD  
><strong>Sorry again for the late updates :(<strong>


	9. Listen To Your Heart

**:::::::::I'm pretty proud of this chapte**r and I hope you like it!  
>A lot of dialogue, a lot of emotion.<br>A whole new set of drama. _**ENJOY!**_

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"Hey man, I'm glad you showed up."

Adam shrugs. "Glad I could help. The sets coming along really great, I can't wait to see how it all comes together."

"I know what you mean."

Adam goes to take a quick washroom break as Imogen comes back from her costume change. "How did I do as Clara, muffin?"

"You really need to stop calling me that."

She gives him a questioning expression with a smile both with her lips _and _with her eyes through her tiny glasses frames. "You _know _I'm the leading lady both in your play, _and _in real life." She grabs his arm, swinging it up to rest on her chest. "Can you feel that? It's my heart."

"I'm gunna need that back," he says slowly pulling her in and kissing her softly on the lips. Right as they part, Eli looks up and sees Clare standing there in the doorway.

"I didn't know we had an audience," Imogen says looking over at her trying to cling to Eli's torso.

He uncomfortably parts away from Imogen as he unnecessarily clears his throat. "How long were you standing there?"

"I don't know, not even like a second—I was just—b,"

"Being a creep?" Imogen interrupts in her soft shrill. When Clare ignores her and pays her no attention, she clings tighter to Eli, arms slung around his neck.

Right at that moment Adam enters the room again only to see the two of them in full on contact. "I knew it," he says shaking his head. "Friends don't lie to each other." Eli looks him in the eye feeling the betrayal sting kick in—he really never meant to hurt Adam, things were just so _complicated_.

When Adam turns to leave he takes a step to go after him when Imogen stops him. "_I _should go see if he's alright," she whispers and trots to catch up to him.

Before Eli knew it, it was just him and Clare who was still standing there silently in the doorway in the dim of the lights. She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it not knowing what to even fill the silence with. "Eli—" she begins. "Can we _talk?"  
><em>  
>"Maybe later." He takes a seat at the desk he kept all of his play work in and looks up at the only theatre light that lit the dark room at the moment.<p>

She slowly begins to walk closer still not knowing how to approach him. _"What do you see in her?" _She blurts out in a sour tone. He squints his eyes not knowing where she was going to go with this. "Eli, can't you see? She's a manipulator! You can't trust her." He lets out a low laugh pretending not to listen, though his ears are uncontrollably drawn to her voice like a magnet. "It's not funny, I'm being serious. There's something about that girl that I can't exactly put my finger on—but,"

"Can it be?" His voice and expression are obviously amused. "Is little miss Clare Edwards actually _jealous?"  
><em>  
><em>"Jealous?" <em>She scoffs. "I am _not _jealous!"

"Clare, I think you are. You're with _Jake _now..." the word _Jake _feels bitter on his tongue. "And I'm with Imogen. So why is that you're suddenly so desperate to see me sulk in the misery you left me to drown in?"

"Why would you even—_did she tell you that? _I would never want to see you miserable, Eli. I _want _you to be happy which is why I'm even here in the first place. I still care about you."

As soon as those last five words register in his brain, he gets the urge to let her go on, ready to take her words into consideration. Maybe things were different than the way Imogen fed them to him. "You still care about me," he says in a questioning tone. "Then prove it to me, Clare, prove it!"

She looks at him with her big blue eyes and he can see the familiar, sweet and caring, tenderness in her eyes like the way he used to see them. He shuts his eyes for a split second as he let his jumbled and disoriented emotions run wild, not knowing what to feel anymore. He felt like a robot—everyone but him had access to his emotions but him. "After all you've done, how can you lie right to my face? You say you still care about me Clare, but I don't believe you... because when it's all said and done, at the end of the day I'm still the same guy you fell in love with—"

"I broke up with that guy!" She yells. "And I was wrong. I left you when you needed me most, but who you became wasn't the guy I fell in love with."

"So then what do you want from me?" He asks breaking eye contact feeling too overwhelmed to lift his gaze.

"I want you realize that Imogen is manipulator, ready to play her mind games on you, me, and everyone we know in order to get whatever it is she wants. She's trying you to turn you against me! And it was nice of Valerie to cover for you yesterday, but I'm not stupid... I know the drugs were Imogen's, and Eli, you can't be around that!" She laughs but not because she finds humour in the situation. "You're so much better than that and I hate to say it, but I'm actually disappointed in you. I've seen you make a lot of mistakes in your past but I never thought you'd stoop this low." He bites his lip knowing she's right. Her words were so dispiriting, the exact opposite of Imogens encouraging and supportive words that were just enabling him to lose himself. "So tell me what you're thinking, you haven't said anything."

"I don't know." He stares blankly across the room with his head the exact opposite of blank. "It's just—Imogen,"

"Eli, I know you two are together, but how can you just forget about everything we had? Think! Forget anything she's ever told you—what do _you_ feel?" She takes a few steps closer to him and repeats, _"What do you feel?" _as she places her hand gently over his heart and looks him lovingly in the eyes.

"I feel like we had our time." He shoves her hand off of him. "And you broke my heart."

"I just needed space, and time told me that I needed to follow my heart. Jake was good for me and for a while he was a breath of fresh air... but lately I've actually had the space to think and I realized that I need to follow my heart. And that's where you are." Eli looks up at her and suddenly his thoughts freeze. "Eli, don't listen to the voices in your head—listen to your heart."

"I—I don't even," he sighs. He doesn't know how to express the one dominate emotion pulsating in his body at this very moment. "I don't even know how to anymore." He looks down again. He could feel the sting in the back of his eyes beginning on the verge of forming tears that he just couldn't contain anymore.

"Then I'll show you," Clare says as she gently caresses his face to save him from tears. "But not with words." She tilts her head up and closes her eyes as she leans in for the kiss.

Just as she thinks she's about to be rejected her lip-lock, she feels him reciprocate and their lips meet for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. As their lips softly moved together under the dim lights, every last emotion and feeling Eli ever felt for Clare came rushing back within an instant. His head was screaming for him to pull away from her embrace, but his heart couldn't let him. His emotions screamed otherwise. He gradually pulled away now only left with nothing but a blank look on his face with a blank mind to match—his thoughts were silenced. It was as if Clare's lips had broken some sort of curse to the control he had over himself. He looked her deeply in her eyes for a moment before turning around to face the vice versa. For a moment there, he felt like he was on cloud nine wrapped in nothing but pure emotional bliss, but when he sees Imogen standing in the doorway with the most broken look on her face, it's as if a giant ton of guilt crushed every incredible emotion he just felt.

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**::::::::::**_**I honestly love how this chapter turned out! Eli is such a poor & confused bby :(**_  
>I hope to post chapter 11 by Friday—Saturday night, <strong>latest.<strong>  
><strong>Head over heart?<strong> Or heart over head? Who will Eli choose?  
><strong>Review<strong> and let me know what you think!


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